Flagstaff Building Boom on Tap

Core Campus is hoping to build The Hub, a 670-bed student housing complex on Mike's Pike. This view shows a side of the building looking south on Mike's Pike. Rendering courtesy of Core Campus

By Suzanne Adams-Ockrassa for Arizona Daily Sun

Flagstaff residents can expect to see more dirt being moved around town in the next few months.

The Flagstaff Community Development Department has applications for 11 commercial, six mixed-use retail/residential developments, 27 residential projects, two office projects, two industrial projects, two local government buildings and a church.

The Standard

The Standard, a 650-bed apartment complex geared toward college students, is currently in the site plan review process, said City Planning Director Dan Folke. The project will have a line of stores at the ground level along Route 66. The project created a lot of controversy in the La Plaza Vieja neighborhood when it was first proposed about two years ago.

The original project called for the removal of the Arrowhead Village trailer park along Route 66 and Blackbird Roost. The size of the original project and the dislocation of 56 families in the trailer park caused an uproar in the La Plaza Vieja neighborhood.

The developer, Landmark Properties, withdrew its original application in July 2014 and submitted a new one in November 2014. The new plan excludes the Arrowhead Village trailer park and includes the Travelodge on the other side of the vacant gas station on Route 66. It does not include the Days Inn.

Landmark is also currently working with the city to resolve some traffic challenges with the site, Folke said. Landmark plans to install a right turn only lane where the apartment complex touches Route 66. The city and Landmark expect this to cause problems, which will require a traffic light to be installed at the intersection of Riordan Road and Route 66.

The Hub

The Hub, another mixed-use apartment complex geared toward students, is planned for Mike’s Pike. The project will hold around 670 students on three or four floors and have 10KSF of commercial retail space on the ground floor. It would cover about 2.5 acres and would touch a small part of Milton Road, a section of Phoenix Avenue and part of Mike’s Pike.

It has caused concern in the Southside neighborhood over its size, the number of residents who would live in it and the amount of traffic and on-street parking generated by it.

Folke said the rezoning application for the project has been submitted and is being reviewed by staff. He expects the project to come before the Planning and Zoning Commission in January or February.

The Lofts

The Lofts, by Capstone Collegiate, is another mixed-use development that is planned on 6 acres on Forest Meadows Drive directly across the street from Kohl’s. The project is expected to have 227 units and a building footprint of 12KSF. Folke did not have the details on whether those 227 units would be rented as apartments or by the bedroom.